Apple and medical device company Zimmer Biomet launched a new smartwatch app — and an associated clinical study — to support postoperative recovery for two major surgeries: hip and knee replacements.
The app, dubbed Zimmer Biomet mymobility, connects patients with their surgical care teams through an interface on the Apple Watch. Surgeons can push education and therapy reminders directly to a patient's smartwatch while they are preparing for or recovering from a joint surgery. The app also delivers patient-reported data and activity information from the Apple Watch to physicians, so they can monitor a patient's progress.
On Oct. 15, the same day the app rolled out, Apple and Zimmer Biomet also launched a study to assess whether mymobility's guidance improves clinical outcomes and overall costs for joint replacement patients.
Apple and Zimmer Biomet plan to enroll up to 10,000 patients in the study. Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia and Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Massachusetts are among the nearly 20 healthcare facilities participating in the study.
"This solution will connect consumers with their doctors continuously, before and after surgery," Jeff Williams, COO of Apple, said in a news release. "We are proud to enable knee and hip replacement patients to use their own data and share it with their doctors seamlessly, so that they can participate in their care and recovery in a way not previously possible through traditional in-person visits."